Berner's Heath is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
north-east of
Icklingham in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
.
It is a
Nature Conservation Review site, a
Special Area of Conservation, and a
Special Protection Area
War time use
The site was used as a high altitude bombing range from 1936 until after
World War II.
[Berner's Heath bombing range, Suffolk]
, Airfield Information Exchange, 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2013-01-27.[Panoramic view of former bombing range]
, ''Bury Free Press'', 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-01-27.[RANGES (Code B, 62): Berners Heath Bombing Range: extension of live bombing facilities]
AIR 2/4507, National Archives. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
Plant and wildlife
The heath is the largest remaining area of heather dominated heath in the Brecks. It contains blocks of heather of different ages as a result of rotational heather burning conducted as a management strategy.
Heather dominates the heath, achieving almost 100% coverage with blocks divided by rides.
[Breckland]
Natural England. Retrieved 2013-01-27. This allows a variety of different ground cover species to develop in different areas of the heath. In the areas of younger heather this includes species such as sheep’s sorrel ''
Rumex acetosella
''Rumex acetosella'', commonly known as red sorrel, sheep's sorrel, field sorrel and sour weed, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Native to Eurasia and the British Isles, the plant and its subspecies are co ...
'' and mosses such as ''
Polytrichum juniperinum'', although in areas where heather is slightly older and growing quickly ground cover is restricted.
Older, established blocks of heather have greater biodiversity and include lichens as well as flowering plant species isuch as heath bedstraw ''
Galium saxatile
''Galium saxatile'' or heath bedstraw is a plant species of the genus ''Galium''. It is related to cleavers.
''Galium saxatile'' is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of , and flowe ...
'', lady’s bedstraw ''
Galium verum
''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It ...
'', common speedwell ''
Veronica officinalis'' and sheep’s fescue ''
Festuca ovina''. These areas also support a wide range of insect populations.
At the edges of the site, especially in the south, acidic grasslands gradually merge with the heather with a range of grass and lichen species present, dominated by sheep's fescue grass. There are some areas of chalk soils as well as an area of self-set Scots pine (''
Pinus sylvestris'') along the southern edge of the site.
Access
It is open access land and can usually be accessed between November and February to allow for ground nesting bird species to be undisturbed during the nesting season.
[The King's Forest Rides]
Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
References
{{Authority control
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk